Why are Hanoi Buffaloes not at the top of the rankings but closing the first Playoffs of VBA 2023?

Winning against Cantho Catfish with a score of 95-81, Hanoi Buffaloes became the first team to guarantee a place in the postseason VBA 2023 even though the Regular Season is still 3 weeks away.

Interestingly, the Buffaloes closed the Playoffs early in the tournament even though they were not at the top of the rankings. Currently, the home team of Hoang Mai Stadium has a 78% win rate with a record of 11-3, while Saigon Heat takes first place with an 83% win rate with a 10-2 record.

So what made the "Capital Buffalo" surpass "Mr. 30" to close the slot early?

The determination of who closes the ticket sooner or later belongs to the relationship between Saigon Heat and a team in the competitive group below, namely Ho Chi Minh City Wings.

Danang Dragons and Cantho Catfish no longer have a chance to compete. Only Ho Chi Minh City Wings with 6 wins and 8 losses is currently the only team outside the top-4 that is still able to play in the Playoffs.

Particularly, Saigon Heat, despite being at number 1 in the rankings, is also a team that can skip the Playoffs if it loses all of the remaining matches of the Regular Season. The reason is that they have only played 12 matches since the beginning of the season, 2-3 matches less than other teams.

Because Saigon Heat has not entered the "safe zone" yet, although Saigon Heat is at the top of the chart, it is not certain that it will have a place in the top-4 when the Regular Season ends. the team to close the Playoffs at the earliest VBA 2023.

At the end of the Regular Season, the top-5 teams also met many times. This promises that the position on the VBA 2023 chart is still mixed.

At that time, City Wings will have the same record as Saigon Heat (10 wins, 8 defeats) but will be ranked first thanks to head-to-head stats. Under this scenario, the Heat would be eliminated and the City Wings would enter the Playoffs.

Whether this case can appear or not will be decided at the "derby" match between Ho Chi Minh City Wings and Saigon Heat on Wednesday evening, August 16. The two teams will meet at Ho Xuan Huong Stadium. .